Grandson is arrested on suspicion of killing Glendale couple

Two people were found dead in the 600 block of Alexander Street in Glendale on Sunday. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

The grandson of an elderly couple found dead in their Glendale home has been booked on suspicion of murder, police said Friday.

Nathaniel Wayne Scheiern, 34, was considered a person of interest after his grandfather William Karl Scheiern, 77, and a woman were found dead Sunday in the 600 block of Alexander Street, according to Los Angeles County coroner's records and police investigators.

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Coroner officials did not identify the woman.

Police found the two bodies in the home where Scheiern and his wife, Verna, had lived for more than 20 years, according to Glendale Police Lt. Robert William.

The house was not ransacked and there was no evidence of theft, William told The Times. "We're pretty confident the victims were targeted," he said. "It's not a random act of violence."

Police believe the couple was killed sometime before a car accident June 25 that left Nathaniel Scheiern hospitalized with "significant but nonlife-threatening injuries."

Officers had gone to check on the couple after a family member reported being unable to reach them. When police arrived, they found the front door ajar and discovered the partially decomposed bodies on the floor in a bedroom, according to coroner's records.

The cause of death was not clear, and information about how long the two were dead won't be available until after the autopsies, said Craig Harvey, the L.A. County coroner's chief of operations.

Nathaniel Scheiern had been living with his grandparents for about a year, police said. He was arrested Thursday evening, and the case will be presented Tuesday to the Los Angeles County district attorney's office.